We spend years building and creating the perfect home, somewhere that everyone in the family feels at peace. But it’s frightening how quickly that can all disappear. In 2010, a home burglary occurred every 14.6 seconds, according to the FBI. There were more than 300,000 house fires in 2013, says the National Fire Protection Association. And insurance claims from flooding total about $4 billion per year, reports government agency FloodSmart.
In short, it’s really easy to lose everything in your home. And hard as it is to even think about it, it’s really hard to get everything back.
“Nobody thinks about it until it’s too late,” says insurance expert Carrie Mitchell. “And then, it’s devastating.”
–
5. Update your list each year.
Once you have a base list, it’s easy. Just add any new acquisitions — the flatscreen you got for Christmas, a new vintage coat — to your home inventory to keep it current. You’ll also update your ability to rest easy, knowing that you’ve got a backup list in the event of disaster. “Just as proactive as you have to be with your health, you have to be with your home,” Mitchell says. “When you make an inventory, the peace of mind you’ll get is unbelievable.”
And THAT is something we could do with more of.
